It's a Wonderful Digi Life
by Asj Johnson
Summary: Takuya wishes he'd never went to the digital world. When he gets his wish, Flamemon watches his friends' adventures play out before his eyes—this time without him by their side—and he realizes nothing will ever be the same. (A Digimon 4 or Digimon: Frontier AU, with a little time travel)
1. Erased

Note: This chapter (and the fic itself) is strongly inspired by one of my favorite Digimon 4 episodes, episode 22, where Takuya returns to the human world and time travels. It's a 'what if the episode had happened differently?' fic. I have nothing to do with Digimon and am writing this strictly for fun. Beware of spoilers, as this fic will have them (and there's at least one big one you don't want to hear from me). It's actually been _years_ since I'd watched this series, but ep.22 (and this idea) just happened to pop into my mind recently. I'd looked up the subbed episodes (while I'd originally watched the dubbed on TV), so I'm going to use the subbed logic, but the dubbed names (let me know if I get something wrong), and will probably paraphrase most of the quotes. And now the first chapter...

* * *

Chapter One: Erased

 _Duskmon slowly turned his head. Darkness seemed to leak from him, covering the area. His red eyes focused on him, staring, staring..._

Takuya backed away with a yell and tripped, falling on his side.

A truck passed in front of him, and the vision was gone. He was lying in the middle of the street, in his town. In the human world.

And the human Takuya was leaving. Running down the street, trying to get to the station in time.

"What do I do?" he asked himself. "What do I do?" He jumped to his feet and ran after himself. If he didn't stop Takuya, it would all happen again. He would get on the train, and end up going to the digital world.

It had only been by chance he'd even gotten that first train ticket. He almost didn't make it. He'd banged his forehead against the machine, and then a ticket came out. He had felt lucky.

The machine...

If he sabotaged the machine, he would never go to the digital world. He would never lose, and his friends wouldn't have been hurt because of him.

He jumped, using his strong legs and speed to leap between trees and buildings, going in the direction of his past self. But, no longer focusing on him, he passed over him, headed for the train station.

He leapt down by the ticket machines. Ignoring the yelps of surprise and the stares, he glanced around, before stepping in front of the machine he had once used.

"Now what?" He wondered to himself. Whatever he did, he needed to do it quick. He looked down at his clawed hands. Could he scratch up the machine? He'd breathed fire earlier, when he'd yelled after first realizing he'd turned into a digimon. Could he do that again?

His ears twitched, picking up on a familiar voice yelling about the train already being here.

No choice, then. He took a deep breath, and, imagining fire, screamed at the machine. A bright plume of flame shot from his mouth, and startled yells sounded around him.

He darted away quickly, just in time to avoid the human Takuya noticing him. He could only wait and see if his attack had actually hurt the machine. It didn't really look damaged, just had a bit of soot on it.

The human Takuya stopped in front of it. Just like before.

He pulled his pockets inside out, realizing he didn't have any money. Defeated, he banged his head against the machine, then jerked back. "It's hot!"

He rubbed at his forehead and looked at the machine with a betrayed-looking frown. The buttons on the machine started flashing, and a blackened ticket stub came out. He picked it up and just stared.

"Hm?" He blinked and looked up. The train on the tracks above him started to pull out. "No! The train's leaving! My destiny's over before it even started!"

From his nearby hiding place, the future Takuya watched as his past self whined to himself and started home. He followed him with his eyes, watching with a slight smile that was both sad and satisfied. He could feel himself beginning to unravel into fractal code, but it was alright. It just meant he had succeeded. The human Takuya may be disappointed now, but it would end up being for the better. He himself, whoever he was, would never come to exist, and the future would be rewritten. His smile widened as he completely vanished.

* * *

He woke up in nothingness. There was no floor, no walls, no scenery. Just dark swirls of color.

"Where am I?" he asked himself. He turned in a circle, seeing nothing on any side, then took a step forward. The image of Duskmon began to form in front of him again, but before he could do more than gasp, he felt a tug from below, and yelled as he began to fall.

He was braced for a hard landing, his head ducked and shoulders raised, his teeth gritted. But, realizing he could feel solid ground beneath him, he opened his eyes.

He was on the floor of some kind of dark room, or cave, with bright white shapes randomly strewn along the walls. He slowly got to his feet as he glanced around. The room didn't have corners and the walls were rough, while the bright screens seemed almost natural, as though they had organically grown from the cave walls— if this was the digital world, they probably had.

Focusing on the bright screens, he started to make out the images playing on them. Most of them seemed to show views of a trailmon station. It was somehow familiar, in an almost-forgotten way.

The station they'd come to when first arriving at the digital world— Flame Terminal.

...It had been a long time. He'd learned so much since then, it felt like months, or even years.

Drawing closer to one of the larger screens to watch, he saw a trailmon— Worm— pulling into the station. A group of pagumon gathered around the doors, waiting to see the passengers disembark, and he couldn't help but feel nostalgic, as they had done the same thing when he'd first arrived. They must do that _every_ time visitors came to their town. There was a puff of smoke from one of the doors, and the passengers fell in a heap—

 _Human_ passengers.

His eyes widened, and he pressed close to the screen. It was JP. And Zoe. And the others.

It was the day they first came to the digital world.

He looked on in amazement, seeming to have lost his breath, as he watched that day happen again.

There went Tommy, running out onto the tracks, insistent on trying to walk all the way back to the human world. His eyes trailed to the edge of the screen, back toward the entrance of the station, waiting to see himself go after him.

As the seconds went by, a feeling of wrongness grew within him.

...Where was he? He looked at a nearby screen that showed the rest of the group where the trailmon had left them. There was Zoe... There was JP... The pagumon... His eyes darted around, but he couldn't find Takuya. No sign of the bright red of his jacket, not even from the other angles shown in the other screens.

...He wasn't there?

* * *

Note:

It felt like a good place for a chapter break. So... what do you think? (is there even much of a fan base for Digimon on this site?)

The idea about the cave with the screens was actually inspired by the Noah episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh!: DM (...which I'd also not seen in some time), by the way. But when I looked up the Digimon 4 episodes, I realized it was similar to the TV Forest. But I think that's a good thing, because it will fit in well later. Oh, and of course, the idea for the fic was partially inspired by the classic movie It's a Wonderful Life.


	2. New Beginnings, Part 1

...Sorry. I found out it's really hard to write about a character watching a series without ending up with a play-by-play. Something reminded me of this fic, though, and I thought I'd look at it again after having had a break.

* * *

Chapter Two: New Beginnings, Part 1

How... How could he not be there?

He stared somewhere beyond the screen in front of him, the images nothing but blurs of color before his eyes. Nothing made sense to him. He mentally grasped for answers, only for them to slip away like wisps of fog.

What was going on? What were these images?

At first he thought the screens were showing live events. Then, on seeing his friends, he'd thought they were recordings from the past. But now... it just didn't make sense. How could his friends be there, while at the same time, _he_ not be there?

Were the screens showing him how things _could have_ gone, if he hadn't of went to the digital world?

Or...

 _The Takuya of the past turned away from the train station and started back home._

 _He watched from a distance, smiling while unraveling into blue ribbons of fractal code._

...did he really change time?

The thought stole his breath away, plunging him into the dark unknown. It would mean he had completely changed his life and who he had once been. He had effectively erased himself— he could never go back to the life he'd left behind in the digital world, nor have the new life he had created for his past self during that blur of impulsive action.

Why had he done such a thing?

He focused on the clawed hands pressed against the screen in front of him: tan brown, gauntleted, and still so very unfamiliar. Nothing like the slimmer, Japanese-pale hands of Takuya Kanbara.

Was he even still Takuya, anymore?

The hands tightened into fists against the screen.

It hurt. Some emotion he couldn't name, so strong that it seemed to physically get lodged in his throat. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, his whole body tensing.

"We should probably go after him. Don't you think?"

He blinked, startled back to his surroundings by the familiar voice. It sounded like Zoe. He swallowed and blinked the blurriness from his vision, focusing on the scene playing out between his hands.

On the screen, Zoe was gazing just to the right of the camera. She was leaning to one side, seemingly to get a better view outside the station. Her expression looked worried or uncertain.

JP stood close by, with his arms folded across his chest. He sighed, an expression of indifference. "What a bother. Why'd a little kid like him get on the train in the first place?"

...That's right. Tommy had run off down the track.

He subtly adjusted his weight, from leaning against the screen, to rocking back on his feet to support himself. His fingers slid from that screen as he turned to face another. One that showed Tommy— who now stood still, standing on the narrow track that lay suspended in thin air.

Originally, Takuya had to convince him to stop.

 _The boy didn't slow down as he reached the cliff, walking out on the thin metal rail that continued out farther than the eye could see._

 _"Tommy!" Takuya paused at the drop-off, not daring to continue on. "Tommy, stop!" He gritted his teeth in determination. "If you want to go home so badly— I'll_ take you home _!"_

 _The boy stopped._

Tommy had walked farther out on the track this time, but seemed to have stopped on his own.

Movement from the side of the screen drew his attention to Zoe and JP, who were approaching the edge of the cliff.

He switched back to the other screen, which had a better view of the two.

JP yelled, "Hey, kid, are you crazy? Get back here before you fall!"

Tommy, seeming almost frozen stiff, turned his head just enough to glance over his shoulder. "My name's Tommy," he said. His expression fell. "And I would, but..." He started sniffing and turned his head back away. He rubbed at his eyes with his fists. "I-I don't think I can move."

"Sheesh," JP said.

Was JP really that unfriendly back then?

Cupping a hand to her mouth, Zoe called, "Just stay there, Tommy." She leaned forward to look over the side of the cliff, and frowned. In a quieter voice, she said to JP, "I might not be afraid of heights, but I'm not sure about walking across this."

"What about those little flying things we saw from the train— er, trailmon?"

"Huh?" Zoe straightened and turned to look at JP. "Oh, I think I understand." She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Those digimon wouldn't be in any danger of falling." Then she made a face. "But they're so _creepy_."

He watched as they told Tommy to just hang on, before they ran back toward the station. The screen panned to follow them. They came across a little, ghost-like poyomon within minutes, and began trying to enlist his and his friends' help.

It was strange how different this was from the first time. Takuya had been the only one to go after Tommy, and then the rescue was interrupted by a rampaging digimon.

JP and Zoe returned to the ledge with a large group of floating poyomon.

The little digimon floated across the distance and clustered around Tommy. With the poyomon surrounding him, Tommy walked back to solid land safely and without fear.

He couldn't help stare at Tommy's grinning face, the boy laughing in delight as a poyomon nuzzled against him. It was so different from before. When Tommy had clung desperately to the rail after losing his balance, or then when the rail had broken and Takuya and Tommy clung to each other as they slid downward. But this time nothing bad happened.

It seemed the group didn't need Takuya there at all. If anything, his presence had only made everything worse the first time around.

He found himself staring at the ledge with a slight frown, until the image on the screen began to pan away. And even then, his eyes remained on the edge of the screen after the cliff was no longer visible.

...The rampaging digimon never showed up.

Was he somehow responsible for the digimon's appearance before?

But it just proved that he had made the right decision to stop Takuya from coming to the digital world. Everything would be better this time.

He backed up to where he would have a good view, and sat on the floor of the cave. He folded his legs beneath him, taking special care with his larger than usual feet and additional tail.

He was oddly content to just watch the screens. He didn't know why he still existed in some form, or even where he was or why, but it didn't seem to bother him as much as he would expect. Shouldn't he be freaking out over his whole life being changed? Was it normal to just feel numb?

His eyes came across a screen showing Koji getting off a trailmon— it was the one called Angler. Just like before, Koji had arrived separate from the rest of the group. He wouldn't become part of their team for a while yet. Or at least, he hadn't before.

Maybe it was because he didn't know much about what Koji did before he joined the team, or maybe it was because he hadn't seen Koji for a while, but he couldn't turn his gaze from the screen. Studying him, he thought the blue-haired boy looked so... unaware. Unknowing. The boy had no idea what the future would hold.

He couldn't help recalling the memory of an injured Koji in Agunimon's arms. The last time he'd seen Koji... the boy was badly hurt. Maybe even _dying_. And it was all because of him— because of Takuya. He should've listened. Shouldn't have insisted on fighting. Not against Duskmon. Koji was right...

 _"Remember, there's no second chances here— if we lose, we_ die _!"_

His friends would've gotten killed because of him if he'd stayed with them.

He could again see the darkness, Duskmon's eyes, the blood-red sword, Koji's limp body.

He didn't want to ever fight again.

...Never again.

On the screen, Koji was looking at his D-Tector.

Orphanimon's voice came from it, saying, "Koji Minamoto, the mysteries that surround you will one day be solved."

...Mysteries? What did that mean?

But Koji didn't seem to know what she meant, either. Then Koji's D-Tector went into some kind of tracking mode that he'd never realized was possible, and the boy started walking.

He watched Koji follow the signal through the streets, not sure what Koji was even tracking down. It was kind of boring— all Koji did was look at the map on his D-Tector. Then he caught a glimpse of Zoe, JP, and Tommy walking by. Neither noticed the other.

He switched to watching one of the screens that were focused on the three, wondering what they were up to.

JP was walking with his arms behind his head. "So what now?"

Zoe's eyes turned skyward in thought. "The trailmon said we had to find some kind of 'spirits' to get home."

Huh? They were going to find a way home? But that would mean they would never become a team so close it was more like family. Nor would they ever experience that indescribable sensation of merging with the spirit of a legendary warrior.

But, no, wait. He shook his head. Everyone had wanted to find a way home at that point. ...And if they _did_ return to the human world this time, it would probably be safer for them anyhow.

He refocused on the screen in time to see JP trying to get a long-eared pagumon to tell them where they could find a spirit. When the digimon refused to say, the three of them started pleading with it.

He frowned, recalling how, the first time around, some poyomon had alerted them of a bunch of pagumon chasing JP and Tommy in the woods.

JP pulled out a chocolate bar and snapped off a piece.

"JP!" Zoe said. "You can't just go around bribing people. And we don't even know if digimon can _eat_ chocolate."

But the pagumon had already bounced up to grab it from JP's fingers. "Mmm..." he said, taking a moment to savor the flavor. "Cerberumon knows something about spirits. He says there's one close by, too. Go ask him." The pagumon pointed into the distance with one of his ears.

The name Cerberumon sounded familiar...

As the screen began to follow the three humans as they left, the pagumon ate the rest of a chocolate bar that JP had tossed to him. "Mmm, it's delicious," the little digimon said. Just before the digimon was out of view, its smile turned malicious and it continued, "But I'm sure he has more. The rest of the chocolate will be free for the taking once Cerberumon's through with them." And then the sitting digimon was gone from the screen.

His eyes widened, suddenly remembering that Cerberumon was the name of the missing rampaging digimon.

"Hey wait!" he exclaimed. Of course, the group of three didn't hear him, and neither did the panning screen. He searched for a screen that still showed that pagumon, but couldn't find one.

He spent a long twenty minutes wondering what would happen if the group came across Cerberumon without Agunimon there to fight. It was nerve-wracking to watch the group of three sedately walking through the woods. Nothing popped up to warn them of the upcoming danger.

Along the path, green-topped, brown metal houses came into view between the trees— just as green fire rose into the air and engulfed the buildings.

He winced, guessing it was time for them to encounter Cerberumon.

Panicking digimon ran past the approaching humans and into the forest, but even that didn't clue in his friends.

He recognized Bokomon and Neemon among the fleeing digimon. His breath caught, thinking the two would run right past the three humans and never become part of their team.

JP reached a hand out into the crowd, and happened to grab a hold of Neemon's ears. The digimon didn't seem to notice at first, still pumping his legs. JP asked, "Hey, what's going on?"

"It's Cerberumon," Bokomon answered for his friend as he ran around JP. He hid behind the boy's legs and pointed toward the wall of flames.

He let out the breath he'd been holding. It looked like the two little digimon they'd grown to be friends with would again be joining the group.

His moment of relief was cut short as a large, dog-like digimon leapt through the flames.

"Cerberumon?!" the three humans yelled in surprise.

"Hm?" Cerberumon said, turning his head.

His whole body tensed at the sight of the all-black digimon.

Black like Duskmon.

Darkness pouring from him, turning his head, red eyes staring at him, stepping closer...

He yelled and fell backward, his legs locking together.

The back of his head banged against the floor. Then all he saw was slowly settling orange hair and the ceiling of the cave— a brown, twisted mass that created a solid dome.

He suddenly recalled his friends and Cerberumon.

He thrust himself upright and locked his eyes on the first screen he found showing them.

Cerberumon was talking. "What are you three doing, coming to this village?— You're after the spirit, too, aren't you?"

"No, the human children were just visiting..." Bokomon started.

"Huh?" Tommy began. "That's not what we were— "

"Liars!" Cerberumon tilted his head back, a green ball of flame forming in his mouth. "Emerald Blaze!"

He slammed his hands onto the cave floor, yelling, "Get out of there guys!"

Thankfully, they— and several close by digimon— shouted and ran from the flames.

Cerberumon continued his fire attacks, but the others were fast enough to stay ahead of the digimon's flames. "Where is it? I can feel it somewhere close by!"

Bokomon, who was running alongside JP, explained, "Cerberumon has been tearing up the whole area, in search of a legendary spirit."

Zoe, voice higher than usual, said, "I thought Pagumon said Cerberumon knew where it was."

"Pagumon are bully digimon," Neemon said with a smile.

Bokomon nodded. "He probably thought it would be amusing to lead you to Cerberumon."

Tommy started crying, even as he ran. "We're going to die, and now we'll never get home!"

"Knock it off, kid. We're not going to die," JP said. The larger boy's eyes widened as more green fire shot their way. "...Though, roasted to a crisp could be another matter."

From where he was sitting in front of the screen, he muttered, " _Not helping_ , JP."

He noticed something move in the treetops behind the group, and then blinked in surprise as a branch flew out and hit Cerberumon across his muzzle.

The large digimon shook his head. "Who did that?" He demanded. His only response was another branch to his face, and he used his Emerald Blaze attack in the general direction it came from.

A blue shape dropped out of the trees as they caught fire.

It was Koji! He was welding a long tree branch like a weapon.

Why wasn't he running away?!

Koji used the branch to pole vault over Cerberumon's Emerald Blaze, and, during a second attack, somehow spun the branch fast enough to divert part of the flames.

Cerberumon must have gotten annoyed, because he used his Portals of Darkness attack, and everyone fell through the dark holes.

No! All he could see was a black screen. What was happening?! Were his friends okay? None of the screens showed what was happening inside the Portals! His breaths were coming in short bursts, his unblinking eyes wide in panic, as though he'd be able to see his friends if only his eyes would open wider.

It was a long moment before he realized he could still hear movement and words.

"I can't see a thing." That sounded like Zoe's voice. Then she screamed.

It felt like his heart stopped. His fingernails dug gashes into the floor as he fisted his hands.

"Something just whizzed by my side!" she said.

"Hold still, human," came a growl.

He could hear Tommy's disembodied sobs.

"How can we tell where he'll attack?" JP's voice asked.

"Just keep moving." That was Koji. The boy then lowered his voice, like he was thinking aloud. "...If only there was some kind of light."

Then there _was_ a light. It was small at first, but grew steadily larger. Until there was a blinding flash, and then Lobomon stood before Cerberumon.

The legendary warrior used his Lobo Kendo attack on the dark digimon, running forward while blocking Cerberumon's long claws, then plunging his sword deeply into the digimon's body. The darkness faded away, revealing a metal floor.

It seemed the Portals of Darkness had landed them in the underground area where Koji had gained his digi-spirit the first time around.

Bokomon already had his book open. "It's one of the ten legendary warriors! Lobomon of light."

Lobomon scanned Cerberumon's fractal code, and then devolved. Koji braced himself on his hands and knees while he tried to catch his breath.

"He turned into a digimon?"

"It was the spirit," Bokomon said.

Zoe suddenly yelled. "My jacket! It's ruined!" She tearfully poked a finger through a rip in the side of the jacket.

"It's just a dumb jacket," JP said.

"Just a jacket?!"

Koji looked over his shoulder. "Is everyone alright?"

That... wasn't how he recalled Koji's first words to them. He almost sounded _nice_. It was strange— Koji was in the same place, even kneeling in the same _position_ as before. But, originally, he'd yelled to Takuya not to touch him and had just been a general jerk.

"I think so," Zoe replied, glancing around at the others. "We might be a little banged up, but everyone seems fine. Grazie mille!"

"Yeah, that was awesome! Thanks for rescuing us," Tommy added.

Koji got to his feet. "Whatever. Just don't make a habit of needing it," he said and walked past them.

"...What a jerk." JP said.

Now, _there_ was the Koji he knew.

Bokomon glanced between the group of three humans standing beside him, and Koji's retreating form— then ran after Koji. "A human child digivolving into a legendary warrior! It's amazing. I can't let this opportunity get away."

"Hey, wait for me!" Neemon called and ran after Bokomon.

Well, that was surprising. It looked like the two digimon weren't interested in staying with the main group this time.

It took a while for everyone to find ways out of the underground chamber. Not much happened during that time. At least nothing exciting or unexpected.

Koji made it out first and sat under a tree near a cliff. The boy leaned back, his arms behind his head, as he took in the open view.

He watched Koji relax, and figured the blue-haired boy probably needed the break after that fight.

He was only a spectator, and even _he_ felt wiped out. At least everyone was safe now. Though, he knew his friends wouldn't have a break for long. From what he remembered, it had seemed like things were constantly coming up. And then the _other_ legendary warriors started appearing.

They had always ultimately won their battles until Duskmon showed up, but there was no guarantee that things would happen as they had before.

But he trusted his friends' judgment. Especially when Koji would re-join the team. If things got out of hand, he knew Koji would give the order to run— and without Takuya there to argue, they wouldn't stay and fight a losing battle. They would be safe.

Refocusing on the screen, he saw Koji frown in thought

Koji reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Tector. He stared at it for a long moment. "Hm..."

Bokomon and Neemon walked onto the screen, having finally caught up with Koji.

"Stop following me," Koji said, not looking away from his D-Tector. He pushed a button, and his eyes widened as fractal code came out and filled in the cliffside, the empty air becoming solid land and trees.

"The fractal code is returning!" Bokomon said and started into one of his lectures on the digital world. After a few seconds, for whatever reason, Koji turned his head toward Bokomon, though didn't say anything.

He sighed, not wanting to listen to one of Bokomon's usual annoying speeches, and turned his eyes to another screen.

His other three friends were watching in awe as tree-like buildings reformed before their eyes. After the village's fractal code was completely restored and digimon started returning to their homes, the three eagerly agreed to explore the area.

If it went like it did the first time around, there wouldn't be any trouble while they were in the village.

He sighed again. Without any danger, he was growing bored. He'd already seen the village before, and had trouble concentrating while Zoe was talking to digimon about jacket repairs, or the boys were looking at various 'new, exciting things' that he'd seen every day for... weeks? Was that how long they'd been in the digital world before today?

Rather than watching the moving images, he found his vision drifting along the edge of the screen itself, where the bright shape disappeared seamlessly into the cave wall.

Well, seeing as he could be there for a long time, he might as well take a closer look at the room.

* * *

Author's note:

There. (sigh of relief) I was going to add one more part to the chapter, where he takes a look around the room and mentions a few things that he didn't notice at first, but... it seemed to have more than enough happening already. Originally, I wanted several other things to happen in this chapter (thus why I decided to call it 'part one'), but after I'd realized how long it would be with all that stuff, I had decided to put the cave-related parts in a second chapter. ...Can you tell why the chapter took so long to write? (well, I'd actually given up on it back in May 2017. Something reminded me of the fic Nov. 27th, 2018, and I thought I'd give it another go, after having had some time away from it. Turned out I had quite a bit written, and just needed to piece it together and add a few things here and there. It still took about four days to finish up, though.)

Let me know if any there's any times when "he" gets confusing. I'm purposely trying not to have Takuya call himself Takuya now. Not sure when I'll have him start calling himself Flamemon, though— he's never heard the name before. ...I also wouldn't mind hearing about any typos, mistakes, or advice.


End file.
